Wall won't subsidize B.C. health care
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 | 12:42 PM CT
CBC News
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says he wants to reduce wait times, but he's not interested in subsidizing British Columbia's health system to do so.
Wall and his Health Minister Don McMorris have been questioned by the NDP Opposition in recent days about the possibility of sending people from Saskatchewan to B.C. for hip and knee surgeries.
For years, Saskatchewan has had long wait lists for certain kinds of elective surgery with waits for orthopedic surgery — including knee and hip replacements — being among the worst offenders.
B.C. Health Minister Kevin Falcon said last month that B.C. is negotiating to bring 400 patients from Saskatchewan to B.C. for surgery over the next two years. The idea is that B.C. would then funnel the premiums it charged back into its own health system.
However, McMorris said there is currently no deal in place. He said sending people out of province is just one option and there have only been some preliminary discussions.
Plan criticized in both provinces
The New Democrat oppositions in both provinces have been critical of the plan. In B.C., the NDP is accusing the government of auctioning off surgery services while B.C. residents languish on wait lists.
In Saskatchewan, the NDP asks why the government would pay premiums for surgeries in another province, instead of spending it within its own borders. Wall insisted Monday that paying premiums isn't what he had in mind.
"This initiative is not about subsidizing anybody else's health care system," Wall said.
"It's about shorter wait times for Saskatchewan people. So if right away other jurisdictions want to talk about that … clearly we didn't talk about premiums when I mentioned it to the premiers, we just talked about capacity."
The Saskatchewan government recently announced a goal of reducing wait times for all surgeries to three months or less.
Wall said his first choice is to have the surgeries done in Saskatchewan, but if achieving the three-month target requires sending people out of province, he won't rule it out.
Saskatchewan NDP health critic Judy Junor said despite what Wall says, B.C. seems to be expecting extra money to do extra surgeries.
"They clearly understand there's going to be a premium," Junor said.
"I guess he's going to have to do some backtracking with B.C. and then see if they're still as interested in bumping their people off the list and putting ours on for no consideration."
